Tips for Designing a Effective PowerPoint Presentation

Microsoft PowerPoint: Microsoft PowerPoint is the name of a proprietary commercial software presentation program developed by Microsoft. It was developed by Microsoft and officially launched on May 22, 1990. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple’s Mac OS X operating system. The current versions are Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2010 for Windows and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2011 for Mac.

A slide show is an on-screen presentation of information / ideas presented on slides. A slide show enforces the ideas, comments, solution or suggestions presented in the slide. Slide shows are conducted by a presenter using an apparatus, such as a carousel slide projector, an overhead projector or in more recent years, a computer running presentation software. The term “slide” originates from the use of slides which have been around for many years. Slides originally were projected on a screen, for example in a theater by magic lanterns, a practice that later evolved into moving picture shows. Even after the advent of motion pictures, slides continued to be employed for a time between showings of the films, especially to advertise local businesses or maintain theater decorum—for example by requesting that gentlemen remove their hats and refrain from smoking, and urging mothers to remove crying infants from the auditorium.

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Effective Presentations

Goals:
A presentation is a reflection of you and your work. You want to make the best possible impression in the short amount of time given you.

Guiding PrinciplesMake it simple.
Make it clear.
Don’t let the technology dominate the presentation. You want the audience to remember the quality of your research, not your PowerPoint wizardry.

Preparation• What are the key points you want to make?
• Who is your audience? What are they interested in hearing and how familiar are they with your topic? Do they expect data or concepts?
• Remember: A presentation is different than a paper. Don’t try to cover everything.

Gather Resources• What will you cover, what can be eliminated?
• How much detail do you need?
• Remember, your time and your audience’s attention are limited. For any part of your presentation, ask yourself “So what?”

Logistics• How big is the hall where you will be speaking?
• How much time will you be given?
• What time of day is your talk?
• Carefully consider if you will depend on anyone else for producing your presentation—allow plenty of lead time.

Equipment Needs• Ask what you will be given and what you must bring with you.
• Consider all equipment you will need—

– Internet connection
– Computer
– Microphone
– Software

Disaster Planning• Consider what could go wrong and plan accordingly.
• Always have a backup.
• Bring a handout that covers all of your slides. Make sure they are legible.

Organize the Material Introduction• Time to sell your idea or research.
• Answer the question, “Why should I listen to you?”
• Establish your personal credibility.

Organize the Material Body• Make sure you cover your main points.• Be concrete. Use examples, statistics, reiteration, comparison.

Organize the Material Conclusion• Give a summary• Emphasize the most important points.

Format• For a presentation in a dark room, choose a dark background with light letters. This is yellow text on a dark blue background.
• When making slides, use a light background and dark letters.
• Use a big enough font. This is 32 points.

General Format Rules• Stick to a maximum of two READABLE typefaces.
• Limit the use of color.
• Pick a style and stick with it.
• Keep it short, especially titles.
• Leave empty space.

Fight clutter!• Don’t include every word you will say.
• Limit to one idea per slide.
• Rule of six! No more than six words per line and six lines per slide.

Presenting Data• Make data/results the focus of your presentation.
• Don’t try to include all data—use handouts for detailed information or refer audience to a Web site.
• Use color or special effects sparingly and consistently.

Why Use graphs?• You need to get your audience’s attention.
• Many people respond better to visual cues than to straight text or lists of numbers.
• An effective graph can help drive home your point.

Final Steps• Practice! Recruit a friendly and constructively critical audience.
• Recruit a grammar expert.
• Show your presentation to someone who knows nothing about your field. Do they get what you want to say?

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5 thoughts on “Tips for Designing a Effective PowerPoint Presentation”

I like that you have a disaster recovery section. It makes for a more confident presenter when they know they have a back up plan in the event things go wrong. And, if a disaster strikes they will look really professional! The whole concept of a disaster recovery ties in nicely with the way I teach presentation skills – using an IT methodology as a basis.